too much
by adorkablefovvs
Summary: and sometimes, it just gets a bit too much. posted on: AO3 (wheezefovvs) & wattpad (playfulparker)


**tw: sensory overload & sorta panic attack as well? **

**-X-**

Waking up, Peter knew today he was going to struggle.

The first sign was the light almost blinding him the second he opened his eyes, searing pain burning through his pupils and into the back of his brain, causing his head to pound. Even though it was rather early, and the sun hadn't risen, the intensity of the light still hurt.

He closed his eyes again, but the world was so loud. He could hear the neighbors next door, talking loudly and amiably. The dog down the street barking at the birds, who were also being rather loud. The cars in the street below him, honking at each other, impatience heightening first thing in the morning.

The overwhelming smell of coffee, mixed with sweat, foul smelling alcohol and fatty foods coming from almost every apartment was enough to make anyone gag.

This was the only thing he hated about being Spiderman. He loved the job and saving people was one of his favourite past times. But the downside was that his senses were dialed up to 11 constantly. Usually he was able to have somewhat of a control over it, but every now and then, everything got too much and Peter was left a shaking mess.

He laid in bed, heart pounding as he tried to center himself. He had an important English exam he couldn't afford to miss. Being Spiderman also meant he often had to skip school to go on more important missions for the Avengers. But he wouldn't let his stupid intense senses get in the way.

Finally, they settled enough for him to swing himself out of bed. Ignoring the small spikes of pain that shocked through his foot every time it touched the floorboard, Peter got dressed and ready for school.

Thankfully, Aunt May was away on a business trip and he was left alone in their small apartment for the next couple weeks. Well, that was a lie. He wasn't completely alone.

Weekends he stayed with - Tony. Peter mentally scolded himself. Tony hated it when Peter called him "Mr. Stark" claiming it made him feel way too old and would always reprimand the teen whenever he did. He insisted Peter called him Tony.

Wincing as he slung his backpack over his shoulder, he placed his earbuds in his ears. Stupidly, he left his noise cancelling headphones at the Avengers Compound, meaning the earbuds would have to do, for now, dulling the noise of the outside world.

He slipped his sunglasses (courtesy of Tony of course) and left his apartment. He took all the back-alleys through Queens to get to Midtown High School, aka the worst place for Peter to be when he was having an off day.

**-X-**

Immediately, Ned noticed something was up with his best friend. The constant grimace of pain was enough to give Ned an idea of what was going on.

"Too much?" Ned murmured to him as he got closer, but because of the enhanced hearing, to Peter, Ned sounded as if he was talking normally. Peter nodded and Ned immediately took two steps back, knowing never to crowd Peter while he was like this.

"Why did you come in? You know how bad you get" Ned asked, concerned.

"Test. English. Can't miss" Peter summed up. Even the vibrations from his own voice were hurting him, in ways he couldn't explain.

"Peter. God, you look awful. Maybe just go home" Ned tried. But Peter was stubborn. He shook his head and determinedly walked forward into the high school. Ned sighed softly, following his best friend to ensure he wouldn't fall over.

**-X- **

Class was the worst, and now Peter was wishing he had taken Ned up on the offer of going home.

English was his last class of the day. Thankfully, he had been able to get away with his sunglasses and earbuds for all his classes. Except for this one.

Unknowing of Peter's condition, his English teacher Ms. Harris forced Peter to remove his earbuds and the small amount of relief they brought him were stripped away.

The noise on its own, Peter would have been able to cope with. But Ms. Harris also made it take his sunglasses off. When he tried to protest, she simply confiscated them from him.

So now, all his senses were fully functioning and running at a million miles an hour. The ticking of the clock. The heavy breathing of his fellow classmates. The different perfume of the girls sitting at the front of the class mixed with Flash Thompson's cologne, the bright artificial lights. Everything made him want to cry. But he couldn't. He was going to Tony's tonight, and so he forced himself to focus on that.

The bell rang, piercing Peters skull like a sledgehammer. He steadied his breathing as the commotion of students exiting the class slowly dwindled out.

Ned has waited for him of course, along with MJ. Peter retrieved his glasses from Ms Harris and made a swift exit from the classroom. He walked with such long strides, Ned and MJ were half running down the corridor to keep up with him.

"Peter. Peter," Ned whispered, noting how much worse Peter looked. "Peter. Is it too much? Do I need to call someone?"

"No. M Fine. Happy's coming" Peter said quietly, once again rubbing his throat. Ned frowned, not believing that he was fine for one second.

He and MJ waited with Peter until eventually Happy rolled up outside the gate. He rolled the window down, looking at the three teens.

"Peter. How many times do I have to tell ya. I can't keep running your friends about. Tony'll kill me" Happy stated.

"Oh no. Happy it's fine," Ned spoke up, coming to Peters defence "We were just waiting with him as he said he wasn't feeling well"

Peter shot a pointed glare in Ned's direction as he got into the back of the car silently. Happy frowned at the Starks Kid weird behaviour but said nothing. He simply thanked Peter's friends and started the car up, heading for Stark Tower.

**-X-**

As Peter got to the elevator, he was just about ready to collapse. The emotional stress from having his off day was catching up to him and he wasn't sure how much more he could take.

F.R.I.D.A.Y, Stark towers AI, spoke in a cheerful manner as Peter swiped his card.

"Good afternoon Mr. Parker. Shall I inform Boss of your arrival?" Peter shook his head.

"No. Want sleep before work" Peter muttered.

"Affirmative. Going up"

As he went higher, he could literally feel himself getting more and more lightheaded. He could hear every single gear working that pulled the elevator up and it was enough to make him want to tear his hair out.

The Penthouse was silent when Peter arrived, making him also cry out in relief. All he wanted to do was curl into a ball and sleep for about an hour before his lab time with Tony officially started.

He groaned softly, willing his feet to drag him over towards the living room area. He dumped his bag and kicked off his shoes, before finally settling in the sofa. He ignored how he could feel every fibre of the sofa cushion pressing against him as he curled himself up.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y dim the lights by 75%" Peter called, sighing as the bright artificial lights were practically off. He closed his eyes, willing his mind to shut down so he could sleep...

**-X-**

"No way. I would SO beat you" Clint argued childishly as he stuck his tongue out at Natasha, who rolled her eyes.

"Yeah right Bird Brain. Wanna prove it?" She gave him a challenging stare, making the other assassin shrink slightly.

Tony groaned at the two's immaturity. He, Natasha, Clint, Steve and Bruce has been working in Tony's personal lab on new weapons for each of the superhero's and had decided it was time for a break.

"I mean, I think it's obvious I would beat both of you in an ice-cream eating contest. I was literally frozen for 70 years" Steve piped up, smirking.

The elevator doors opened, and Tony thanked the gods. He loved his teammates, but lord they drove him up the wall.

He frowned when he noticed the room was unusually dark and silent. He knew Peter was coming today, so why wasn't the TV on? And why hadn't F.R.I.D.A.Y alerted him of Peters arrival? He knew the Kid was here as he could see his bag on the floor.

"Alright, you guys go get food. I'll be there in a sec " Tony told them. The three Avengers exchanged confused and concerned looks before shrugging and heading off to the kitchen.

Tony circled around the living room, not noticing anything out of the ordinary. Until he saw the sleeping form of Peter Parker on his sofa. He felt his heart swell in his chest as he saw his kid sleeping. He wondered how long the teen had been here for, and why he was asleep on the sofa instead of the room that Tony had provided him.

Shrieks from the kitchen startled Peter awake, the anxiety finally brimming over as he lost the last bit of control. Tony was shouting to the direction of the noise, stressing Peter out further. He let out his first sob, hands clasping over his ears, screwing his eyes shut. He keeled himself over, pressing his face into the sofa cushion, doing everything and anything he could to block out the noise. His tears feeling like acid down his face, but the pain from it was making him cry more.

"Too much. Too Much" Peter muttered repeatedly, trying to slow his brain down. Tony had stopped shouting, finally catching on to what was wrong with his kid, beating himself up for not noticing at an earlier stage.

"Kid. Hey kid. Where are your headphones hey?" Tony tried, but Peter couldn't hear him. His head hurt so bad and it wouldn't stop. Tony glanced helplessly around the room, finally spotting the red headphones on the dining table at the other end of the room.

Tony reached out, attempting to place a gentle hand on his shoulder. Peter flinched away as if Tony's touch burned him. That hurt more than Tony wanted to admit.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y activate Sensory Overload protocol"

All the lights in the room flicked off, emerging them into darkness. Tony turned to his Kid, who he could faintly see was still gripping at his ears. He needed those headphones. Peter would only injure himself more if he continued to grip his head like that.

"Stark? why did-" Steve walked in and Tony silenced him.

"Too much for the kid. I need the headphone on the table. Tell Nat and Clint to steer clear. I don't need him more stressed than he already is, and you know what Nat's like" Tony spoke quickly, but by some miracle, Steve had understood him. He threw the headphones over in Tony's direction and left the room with a curt nod.

Tony gently pried Peter's fingers off his ear, trying his best to ignore the literal heartbreaking screams from Peter as he slipped the headphones on his head. He pushed Peter into a laying position onto the sofa, getting up and sitting on the floor next to him.

"Breathe kid. It's ok. You're gonna be fine" Tony whispered gently. If Peter understood what Tony was saying, he didn't show it. The kid laid the motionless, staring up at the pitch-black ceiling. Tony couldn't do anything until it was over. He didn't know how much time had passed, but Tony let out a sigh of relief as he heard soft snores coming from Peter's mouth. He pulled himself up, knowing it was best to let Peter sleep it off.

Natasha, Clint and Steve were waiting in the kitchen, joined by Bucky and Bruce. Their conversation was almost non-existent, excluding Bucky and Steve who were whispering inaudibly to one another.

"How is he?" Natasha asked the second she caught sight of the billionaire. Tony sighed, shrugging.

"Asleep. He'll be fine when he wakes up" Tony reached over and grabbed Steve's mug, taking a sip of the coffee. If it was any other occasion, Steve would have let Stark have it, but he knew the man was exhausted.

"Poor kid. I can't imagine what it's like for him to have to hear everything 10x louder than everyone else" Bruce shook his head sympathetically. Tony hummed in agreement, his eyes drifting over towards where the sleeping kid laid.

**-X-**

Around 3 hours later, Peter finally came round. His mind was fuzzy, a tell-tale sign that he had a sensory breakdown. He slipped the headphones off his head, allowing them to hang loosely around his neck. His ear was ringing a little, but by now it was normal after he had an attack.

"Hey Kid. Feeling better" Tony spoke quietly, which Peter appreciated. He wasn't ready for loud voices. Not yet anyway.

"Time?" Peter asked, sitting up slightly. Tony sat down next to the teen, draping an arm over his shoulder.

"It's nearly half 6. Capsicle is cooking with Bird Brain and Nat. It's your favourite" Tony said, cashing Peter to snort at the stupid nicknames his mentor gave Steve and Clint.

"I'm sorry...for the breakdown. Wouldn't have happened if I hadn't left these here" Peter apologized, pointing to the headphones.

"Well, I'll buy you a couple extra pairs. One you can keep at May's and one for your locker at school," Tony paused and lowered his voice even more "You have nothing to apologize for Kid. You can't control when these things happen."

Peter hummed, leaning his head against Tony's shoulder. Tony gripped Peters forearm, giving him a one armed hug, that was shortly interrupted by Steve shouting them for dinner.

"Tony," Peter asked quietly. Tony turned and looked at him questioningly "Thank you"

Tony's heart swelled at this, a small smile twisting on his lips.

"Anytime Kid."

**-X-**

**Word count: 2344**

**this is my first time writing something like this. **

**my brother has autism and often has sensory overloads due to him having rather sensitive ears. **

**nevertheless, i did research this before i started writing and i generally do research anything i need to before i write to make sure i can depict it correctly.**

**with sensory overloads...they're hard to write. there's so much going on and you're hyperaware of everything and it can often be hard to describe, but i hope i did an OK job with it.**

**-Lauren xox**


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